Cattle cruelty footage suspends trade, sparks live export debate

Footage showing Australian cattle being mistreated in an Egyptian abattoir has led to exports to that country being suspended and the debate over the live export trade being picked up by both sides of the debate. A warning that this story contains disturbing images of animal cruelty.

Transcript

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CHRIS UHLMANN, PRESENTER: Two years after evidence of shocking cruelty halted live cattle exports to Indonesia, horrific new images have emerged of Australian cattle being mistreated in Egypt. The footage, filmed by workers in Egyptian abattoirs, has led to the suspension of cattle exports to that country and calls for increased supervision of the slaughtering process.

Live exports to Egypt have been suspended before - in 2006 after allegations of tendon cutting. The trade only resumed three years ago.

The Greens are again calling for a live export ban, but the industry claims that would be even worse for animal welfare.

Matt Peacock has this exclusive report, and a warning: this story contains very disturbing scenes of animal cruelty.

MATT PEACOCK, REPORTER: According to the meat industry's public relations, Australian cattle exported to Egypt have had nothing but the best.

RICHARD LEITCH, LIVESTOCK MANAGER, SOKHNA LIVESTOCK CO.: You've got 100 per cent control. The animals don't leave your sight. From the time they leave the ship to the time they get to the feedlot, you've got 'em under your control.

MATT PEACOCK: They're meant to be closely supervised in state-of-the-art facilities like this one, designed to guarantee their humane treatment.

MATT PEACOCK: But graphic footage obtained by 7.30 recorded by Egyptian meat workers tells a shockingly different story.

An Australian bull appears to have broken a leg after escaping from the slaughter room into a holding pen. A worker circles with a knife. He repeatedly stabs at the bull, striking at its tendons, at its face.

Blood can be seen coming from the animal's eye. The worker is goaded on by a buyer waiting for the bull to be killed.

The whole tortuous process continues for five minutes, until eventually the bull collapses in a pool of its own blood.

LYN WHITE, CAMPAIGN DIRECTOR, ANIMALS AUSTRALIA: I think any person that watches that footage would be absolutely horrified and distressed at what that poor animal endured in that Egyptian abattoir.

MATT PEACOCK: Another scene also recorded in October by workers at another Australian-approved abattoir at Sokhna shows animals in a poorly-fitting restraint pen which is turned over to leave the throat exposed for cutting.

LYN WHITE: Well the footage of those restraint boxes reveals a device that tips the animals fully upside down, that has a head restraint that sometimes appears to start choking the animal. There could be nothing more distressing or terrifying for cattle than to go through that process, and then, they have their throats cut whilst fully conscious.

MATT PEACOCK: This footage was given to Animals Australia by an Egyptian vet, Dr Mahmoud Abdelwahab, who spoke to 7.30 on Skype from his home in Suez.

MAHMOUD ABDELWAHAB, EGYPTIAN VET: I wanted to send a message to the whole world. So I contacted Animals Australia to make this - to take this footage and show it internationally and make pressure to our government to move to improve itself, to improve its abattoirs, to make a punishment for the killer - butcher or killer worker.

MATT PEACOCK: Killing animals in this way has nothing to do with Islam, believes Doctor Abdelwahab; in fact, it's contrary to Muslim beliefs.

MAHMOUD ABDELWAHAB: These animals have blood, have nerve, have a soul. It feels as we feel. It's not stone, it is not wall, it is not ceiling. It has a nervous system. So, our god orders us to be nice with these animals.

MATT PEACOCK: In one case here, the animal has had its throat cut incorrectly. After being hoisted in the air and washed down, it then escapes from the hoist and walks around, throat gaping, until it is eventually brought down.

LYN WHITE: They are not even checking that animals are dead before they start butchering them. And in that incident, that poor animal obviously had such a awful throat cut that he didn't even lose consciousness, and within minutes he's standing with a gaping throat, dribbling blood, until they start slashing at him and he collapses to the ground once again.

PHILLIP GLYDE, DEPT OF AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FORESTRY: The images are undoubtedly cruel, they're unacceptable, they're appalling and shocking and that's why we need to find out what's gone wrong in these facilities in these supply chains.

MATT LINNEGAR, CEO, NATIONAL FARMERS' FEDERATION: We are here as representatives of the Australian live export industry today to firstly respond in terms of footage that will air tonight on ABC 7.30 program.

MATT PEACOCK: After suspending the trade on Friday, the Australian industry today announced it wants to resume it, subject to the standard known as SCASS established after the Indonesian live export scandal under which Australian exporters remain responsible for their animals after they land overseas. The department says the Egyptian Government is also investigating.

ALISON PENFOLD, CEO, AUST. EXPORTERS' COUNCIL: In addition to bringing Egypt into SCASS, we're making a number of - taking a number of additional measures, including placing animal welfare officers into those facilities, providing additional training and support to ensure that all abattoirs workers and all feedlot workers are handling animals and slaughtering animals in accordance with international animal welfare standards.

LYN WHITE: I think the industry is treating the Australian public like fools. Putting animals back into Egypt has nothing to do with animal welfare, it's to do with greed. We have been exporting to that country for nearly 20 years, and we are still seeing animals having their leg tendons slashed. Perhaps the only Australian contribution has been to endorse the use of those brutal boxes, and it's important to note that under this proposal those boxes would continue to be used.

MATT PEACOCK: Ironically, it's one of these restraint boxes that featured in the live export promotional video that was taken down from the web today. Industry now says that they're unsuitable and were approved by the Government, not them.

ALISON PENFOLD: From what I saw of the footage, they're clearly - the head restraint was clearly malfunctioning. That's obvious. In terms of the rest of the box, I can't comment. We were not involved in the auditing of the facilities or the approval of the facilities. That has taken place at a government level.

PHILLIP GLYDE: Why haven't the restraint boxes worked in this particular case? They were designed to meet international animal welfare standards, and yet we see the images that we've seen, which are shocking. That's why we need to find out what's gone wrong.

MATT PEACOCK: Animals Australia is using the footage to stop the live export trade. That's a view that's shared by independent MP Andrew Wilkie, who'll move that in Parliament next week.

ANDREW WILKIE, INDEPENDENT MP: There is no doubt that Australia's live animal export industry is systematically cruel, it doesn't have public support and it's not in Australia's economic self-interest. And it takes a person with a very, very cold heart to allow this trade to continue.